Milwaukee's east side getting protected bike lanes

Aug 14, 2023

MILWAUKEE — The east side of Milwaukee will soon have protected bike lanes.

Ald. Jonathan Brostoff, who represents Milwaukee’s 3rd district, announced the project Thursday.

In a 2017 survey on bicycling in Milwaukee, the most desired improvement from respondents was the separation of traffic from bike lanes. Now, that’s becoming a reality for a portion of the city.

“Traffic safety has been an increasingly difficult and tragic problem in Milwaukee, which is why I supported these projects and why I’m so happy to see them get started,” Brostoff said in a statement.

The protected bikes lanes would start in the 3rd district on E. North Ave., between the east end of the bridge over the Milwaukee River and N. Prospect Ave. Additional lanes will also be installed on N. Prospect Ave. between E. North and N. Maryland Avenues.

Brostoff said the new lanes on E. North Ave. will be against the curb on both sides of the street and have a “painted buffer” with plastic posts between the lanes and cars.

To make way for the lanes and increase safety, parking will be removed from the south side of the street. Parking will still be located on the north side of the street between the buffer and car travel lane. Nothing is changing with car traffic lanes. Brostoff said there will still be one driving lane in each direction of the road.

Changes to parking will help crews narrow the crossing distance for people walking, calm traffic and provide increased safety for those biking. In one study published in the American Public Health Association, streets with protected bikes lanes saw 90% fewer injuries per mile than those with no biking infrastructure.

Brostoff has been a “longtime proponent” of traffic safety measures and said he’s excited about this improvement.

“These new protected bike lanes mark the beginning not the end of improvements to the streets and not only will they will calm traffic, make the pedestrian experience better, and improve bike safety, but they’ll also reduce accidents both in volume and in severity,” he said in a statement.

Crews are set to begin work on the installation on Friday, Brostoff said.